Rachel Haynes of the Thunder poses with the player of the match award. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

The Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) is enthralling the spectators now as one of the two matches on the fifth day of the action was a close affair. While Adelaide Strikers registered their third consecutive victory, Melbourne Stars succumbed to their third loss eventually making their chances to qualify bleak early on in the tournament. However, the teams would like to win consistently now as the competition is going deep and playoffs· are approaching fast.

Thunders win by 9 wickets against Stars

Melbourne Stars’ poor run continued as Sydney Thunders blew them away by nine wickets in the one-sided encounter. Stars, after being invited to bat first, struggled their way to 132/4 at Howell Oval in Sydney. Mignon Du Preez scored 58 but took 49 deliveries as all the batters found it tough to time the ball on a sticky wicket. Anna Lanning supported her well and scored 35 off 40 deliveries as Thunders conceded only 8 fours and two sixes. Samantha Bates was the pick of the bowlers who returned with the figures of 1/16.

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In reply, the home side was up to the task and chased down the target in a canter with as many as 29 balls to spare. Rachel sisters, Priest and Haynes, added 95 for the first wicket as the former lost her wicket on 42. But the latter played exceptionally well and remained unbeaten on 78 to script a huge win for her team. Erin Osborne was the only wicket-taker for the Stars as they are still languishing at the bottom of the table. They need to start winning soon before getting thrashed out of the tournament.

The Indian recruit of Sydney Thunders, Harmanpreet Kaur, didn’t have a significant role to play on the day. She didn’t bowl and wasn’t required with the bat as well with the top order doing the job for her team.

Adelaide prevail in a humdinger

Adelaide Strikers prevailed in the defence of 139 as Melbourne Renegades fell short by just one run of the target in a heart-wrenching thriller. The home side was put in to bat first by Renegades as Adelaide posted a below par 139 on the board courtesy a solid knock of 45 from Beaumont. The skipper Suzie Bates and Megan Schutt also contributed decently as the other batters struggled significantly in front of Lea Tahuhu and Chamari Athapaththu.

Melbourne, in response, were expected to chase the target easily but the hosts kept their cool right through. They were first reduced to 18/3 by Tahlia McGrath in the fifth over only for the skipper Amy Satterthwaite to play an excellent knock. Amy slammed 56 runs off just 40 deliveries which kept her team in the hunt to gun down the target. But the wickets kept tumbling from other end and Renegades couldn’t keep their nerve after being just 18 runs away from the target in the 18th over.

Sophie Devine took the prized scalp of Amy as Melbourne succumbed to pressure in the dying moments of the game. Suzie Bates though held her cool in the final over of the game when she had only 8 runs in the bank. The match was stretched until the last ball when the Lea Tahuhu struck the ball straight back to the bowler when two runs were needed. Bates didn’t miss out and caught a wonderful catch and won the lost match by just 1 run.

Adelaide Strikers stay on top of the points table with 6 points after three matches as Melbourne Renegades have now lost both the games they’ve played so far.